Which to use
“cobra” and “core” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,721
- “cobra” frequency rank
- #1,892
- “core” frequency rank
- 16613
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cobra | core |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Any of various venomous snakes of the genus Naja. | In general usage, an essential part of a thing surrounded by other essential things. |
Where the eye mixes cobra and core
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cobra with core
A purely visual mix-up. cobra (/ˈkəʊbɹə/) and core (/kɔː/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16613, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cobra is recorded at frequency rank #14,721, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkəʊbɹə/. core is at rank #1,892, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɔː/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 16613, this pair ranks #456,647 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cobra vs core
Shared letters: cor. Private to "cobra": ab. Private to "core": e.
"cobra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "core" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cobra" for "core" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cobra" vs "core" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cobra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "core" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #456,647 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cobra" and "core" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Cobham vs cobra". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #456,647 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.